Amazon.com Essentials:
Like many other films by Canadian director David Cronenberg
(especially Crash), Dead
Ringers presents the cinematic and psychological equivalent of an
automobile accident--you dare not look, but you can't turn away. The
film marked a directorial breakthrough for Cronenberg, who was able to
continue some of the themes explored in his earlier horror films while
graduating to a higher, more critically "respectable" level of
artistic sophistication. The film is loosely based, amazingly enough,
on a true story about twin gynecologists who routinely traded each
others' identities, lives and even lovers. Utilizing innovative
split-screen technology (years before computer manipulation made such
trickery much easier), the film stars Jeremy Irons in flawless dual
roles as the identical brothers Beverly and Elliot Mantle. Their
ability to instantly switch identities leads them to a shared
relationship with a well-known actress (Genevieve Bujold) and,
ultimately, a physical and psychological tailspin that sends them both
to the brink of madness and death. The scenario suggests that both men
are halves of a whole, and that one cannot exist without the
other. But when Beverly pursues a kinky, drug-addicted affair with the
actress, his more self-controlled brother is helpless to prevent their
mutual decline. In this way Dead Ringers becomes a fascinating
and stylistically clinical study of duality, and Cronenberg doesn't
shy away from the dark and unpleasant aspects of the story. (One look
at the movie's display of bizarre gynecological instruments and you'll
know why women find this film particularly--and
unforgettably--disturbing.) The Criterion Collection DVD includes
illuminating commentary by Cronenberg, Irons, production designer
Carol Spier, and others; extensive production information; interviews
with the principal cast; and a detailed examination of the film's
groundbreaking use of invisible special effects. --Jeff
Shannon
